REFLECTOR: SERG Fuel Lines

Tom Falls tomfalls6 at gmail.com
Sun Aug 12 16:53:15 CDT 2012


Ron,

I cut away a circle of about 5" diameter of inside skin of the fuselage where the probe mounts. Then cut away the foam at a bevel down to the inside surface of the outside skin. A circle of outside skin should now be exposed that is slightly larger than the diameter of the probe. Then cover this hole with 2 layers of BID to tie the inside and outside skins together.  Please excuse the sketch.  I'm doing the best I can with my finger and an iPad app.
Make a hard point out of aluminum 3/8 or 1/2" thick that is the diameter of the probe with a hole in the center for the aluminum tube of the probe to pass thru. Drill and tap 5 holes for the mounting bolts. Now install the hard point in the cavity created in the fuselage with alphapoxy micro glass. Don't let any micro get into the taped mounting holes. Also keep the surface of the hard point smooth for a good seal against the probe gasket. Drill a 1/2" hole thru the fuselage for the probe tube to pass thru to the tank cavity.

Make sure the hard point is sealed tight to the fuselage with the micro. The center hole of the hard point will be filled with fuel so an incomplete seal will allow fuel to leak under and around the hard point.

I don't have any settings on the probes themselves and I'm a ways off from wiring them to the panel. I imagine there will be some settings on whatever electronic box I wire them to (which I haven't bought yet).

Yes I think 9" +\- is about right for the SERG. Hope this helps,
Tom

On Aug 12, 2012, at 2:03 PM, "Ron Stacey " <rlstacey at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Tom,
>  
> I’m finally ready to order a set of these probes. What’s the installation procedure? How did you set up the output? (240-33 ohms??). Looks like for me from the bend to the sump is about 9” with ½ inch clearance at the bottom. Sound about right?
>  
> Thanks,
> Ron
>  
> From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On Behalf Of Tom Falls
> Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2011 12:41 PM
> To: 'Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list'
> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: SERG Fuel Lines
>  
> Ron,
>  
> I used #FP1212V3 from Aircraft Spruce. They’re made by Centroid. I believe it’s the same probe you’d get from the Velocity factory.
>  
> Bending should not affect the reading. As I understand it the bend must be confined to the top 3”.  Email Joel at help at centroidproducts.com. He was very helpful when I had questions.
>  
> Tom
>  
> From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On Behalf Of Ron Stacey 
> Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 2:56 PM
> To: 'Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list'
> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: SERG Fuel Lines
>  
> Tom,
>  
> What capacitance system are  you using? Does bending it affect the reading?
>  
> Thanks,
> Ron Stacey
>  
> From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On Behalf Of Tom Falls
> Sent: Saturday, June 04, 2011 12:11 PM
> To: 'Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list'
> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: SERG Fuel Lines
>  
> Kevin,
>  
> Pics of the tank fuel strainer in the sump (about ½” deep) are attached and also show the capacitance probe. The probe is mounted directly above the strainer but bent and cut so that the tip is level with the top of the sump (top surface of the lower strake). The tip of the probe ends up with ½” clearance all the way around, including between it and the strainer.  About 3-1/2” aft of the center of the probe is the threaded hard point for the vent line. I just put the  strainer and probe in finger tight so you could see how everything fits together. I can send higher res pictures directly to you if you need.
>  
> Tom
>  
> From: Kevin Baker [mailto:flykb at verizon.net] 
> Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 10:48 PM
> To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
> Cc: Tom Falls
> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: SERG Fuel Lines
>  
> Thanks Tom,
> could you  provide some pics also?
> Thanks
> Kevin
> 
> On 6/3/2011 9:20 PM, Tom Falls wrote:
> FYI for those that have not built their strakes: I just completed sealing the interior of my right strake (top still needs to be installed), I did a test to determine “unusable fuel” in the strake with the airplane leveled in all directions. Note; I took Scott Swings advice and DID NOT install a fuel pick-up in the space aft of the gear leg (and just forward of the center spar). Hence the reason for my test. Per his suggestion, I did create a sump pit about 3” x 3” forward of the gear leg but aft of the baggage compartment for the single finger-strainer/ fuel pick-up point. I found that the area behind the leg/wheel well would hold less than 1 quart (< 1/4 gallon) before the fuel (water in my test) would flow around forward of the wheel well and then inward toward the sump/fuel pick-up point. This modification from the plans is a simpler install and, as tested, has minimal impact on usable fuel. Thought I’d pass this on so others could benefit from this modification and understand the tested and verified trade-off.
>  
> Also, I did a test of the capacity of my sump tank. It’s still in its raw state (as delivered from the factory), but I filled it full of water while supporting it with the aft side up and level ( like a brownie pan). It held exactly 2 gallons. If (a big if in this case) we could get the low fuel sender at the very top of the sump tank, we’d have only 15 minutes of run time at 8 GPH (reasonable for a IO-360). Considering the low fuel sender will not be at the very top of the sump, and if it’s susceptible to false alarms as I’ve read many do have an issue with, then the low fuel warning to the pilot once acknowledged to be real, leaves scant little time to find a suitable landing site and get it on the ground. What are the options/solutions to getting (or ensuring) a reasonable amount of low fuel warning?
>  
> Thanks,
> Tom
>  
>  
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